Lord Mayor Appeal’s City fanfare November 15, 2011 THE run-up to the Square Mile Salute dinner, an annual banquet that raises funds for wounded soldiers and their families, got off to a fine start this weekend with the Lord Mayor’s Parade through the City. Floats and parades through the Square Mile starring a range of causes and supporters, made for a brilliant spectacle. [...]
QUAFFER’S CORNER November 14, 2011 HEAD SOMMELIER AND MANAGER OF LUTYENS RESTAURANT BEING from the New World, I’m accustomed to thinking of grape growing as a specialised activity but, in fact, in parts of Europe it is the norm to grow grapes as part of a pattern of mixed agriculture, combining it with fruit or nut trees, perhaps a cow [...]
Ski Seefeld’s winter wonderland November 13, 2011 TO MY mind, downhill skiing is too much like hard work. Long journeys from the airport to reach the resorts; dawdling in queues to take lifts up to the slopes; expensive ski passes; complicated clothing; the constant risk of a nasty accident. I have always wanted to enjoy everything skiing has to offer without all [...]
Restaurant Group says on track for 2012 November 10, 2011 THE RESTAURANT group said it continued to make good progress, posting a 6.5 per cent rise in sales in the 44 weeks to November, despite pressure from inflationary costs and weak consumer spending. The owner of Frankie & Benny’s and Chiquito restaurant chains said November trading had started well and remains on track to meet [...]
HOME FROM HOME FOR HYDE PARK OLIGARCHS November 9, 2011 LUCA del Bono has been busy ever since he exited Quintessentially, the concierge service he started with Ben Elliot, to start his property fund Del Bono & Partners. The leisure-focused fund has bought £150m-worth of property over the last two years, recently acquiring the C London restaurant in Mayfair and 50 St James’s, where del [...]
Latin-fever hits London next year with cuisine from Peru and Brasil November 9, 2011 COLOMBIA Sabor has lived on the Essex Road since 2004. Its name means flavour, and that’s exactly what it delivers: the taste of Latin America. Including Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Argentina in its culinary repertoire, you can expect empanadas, ceviches, palm-heart salads and papaya relish from Colombian national Esnayder Cuartas. 108 Essex Road, N1 8LX, [...]
The Japanese disease: How its corporate culture turns disasters into catastrophes November 8, 2011 IT HAS not been a good few years for Japan PLC. In 2009, its car industry was plunged into crisis after Toyota was forced to recall 6m vehicles following a series of fatal accidents in the US. Then came the tragic Japanese earthquake, which had a chilling effect on businesses. A few months later, Sony [...]
A Playboy queen in chef’s whites November 8, 2011 IMAGINE, for a moment, the head chef at a Playboy Club. Whatever image just sprang to your mind, I am fairly certain it is not Judy Joo. A Korean-American former Wall Street banker (she was a sales-trader on the fixed income floor of Morgan Stanley; her husband works for a hedge fund in London), Joo [...]
Taskforces to lead tax crackdown November 7, 2011 TASKFORCES are being set up to target different types of tax evasion in different regions, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) revealed yesterday. Businesses are the particular focus in London and the south east, with those failing to submit statutory returns for corporation tax, income self assessment, PAYE and VAT seen as core targets by the [...]
QUAFFER’S CORNER November 7, 2011 HEAD SOMMELIER AND MANAGER OF LUTYENS RESTAURANT With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I’m devoting this week to helping my American readers select a wine to have with their turkey. It’s not a festival that we celebrate in New Zealand but, as my sister-in-law is from New Mexico, I’m familiar with the palate of flavours and the [...]